The recent heavy swell of the sea, causing killer waves in Mauritius, Rodrigues and other surrounding islands needs to be given deep thought in so far as natural calamities are concerned. We need to be rightly guided by the Meteorological Department and be prepared to face such phenomena.

Natural calamities have been increasing in intensity, ferocity and frequency. It was in December 2004 that we witnessed the ferocious tsunami that hit three continents and killed nearly 200,000 persons besides destroying land and buildings. Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast of the US with unprecedented ferocity. The recent South Asian earthquake has taken a toll of nearly 50,000 lives and many more deaths are likely in view of worsening weather.

New diseases are threatening humanity. HIV-AIDS is already devouring the African continent and elsewhere. SARS took its toll earlier and the latest threat comes from pandemic avian-flu whose death toll may be a lot, according to experts.

According to UK scientists, global warming may inundate and wipe out entire countries and cities. It threatens the rise of the sea level in alarming proportions. The melting of the ice caps in Greenland, Antarctica and elsewhere could raise the average sea level by several metres. Is this God?s wrath or a result of man?s own folly? We believe it is the latter for man has arrogantly disturbed the ecological balance of our planet. What is more, he is still doing so.

In this world the poor are the worst hit whereas the rich countries simply ignore the threat. The time has come to put a halt to the plunder of the world?s resources by a handful of transnational corporations and powerful nations, especially the rape of the Third World. Development for the sake of development should be abandoned and instead we have to search for a path of sustainable development.

Make no mistake; even Mauritius (as we have just witnessed) is not spared from natural calamities. Whether we like it or not, all the signs and symptoms shown lately in the behaviour of meteorological occurrences are clear that natural calamities are gradually approaching us. Are we prepared for it? It is high time the government did something to help us understand through massive education how to face natural calamities be they hurricanes, earthquakes, epidemics, floods and others. There should be safety guidelines for the general public to protect themselves.

So far, a moderate earthquake occurred on 22nd November 2005. The magnitude 5.5 phenomenon has been located near the Mid-Indian Ridge, in the Indian Ocean. The event was confirmed by a seismologist of the US Geological Survey, National Information Center and World Data Center for Seismology in Denver. The event was located NE of Rodrigues, 640 miles SW of Diego Garcia. Reunion Island too was affected on two separate occasions in November 2005. So there is cause for concern for all of us. Never say it would never happen to us.

On 4th Dcember,2005 a big meteorite fell in Australia about 100 km from residential areas on a wasteland. Meteorites from space are big enough to fall on the ground and are a threat to both our lives and our planet. According to scientists, they are different from the rocks the Earth is made of. A really large meteorite would make a big round crater in the ground. So how safe are we from natural calamities? No one knows the answer.

Ahmad MACKY